Women’s voice in the grassroots
Speaker
Chamal Rajapaksa made a pertinent point at the recently concluded SAARC
Speakers and Parliamentarians Conference. He stressed that it is
essential to strive to increase youth and female representation in
Parliaments of the South Asian countries for achieving socio-economic
development.
As Speaker Rajapaksa pointed out in his address, the SAARC region has
witnessed the oldest form of democracy practised by the Sakyas, the clan
of Prince Siddharta who became Gautama Buddha. But it is blighted by the
relative lack of women’s representation at all levels of the political
ladder. With the elections to the rest of the local bodies around the
corner, it is worth visiting this topic again.
While South Asia as a whole is rather lacklustre in this department,
Sri Lanka’s position is even more disconcerting despite being a country
that produced the world’s first woman prime minister and later, a woman
executive president. The present Parliament has only a handful of women
MPs, (out of 225 MPs), which is pathetically low for a flourishing
democracy that has had universal franchise long before gaining
independence in 1948.
The situation at other levels of the local political structure is no
better. There are only a few women representatives at provincial
councils and local bodies. This is not a healthy state of affairs at
all, because the voice of women really matters.
At the grass roots level, it is women who know the ground realities
and social and development needs better than the men in most instances.
They know what their respective areas urgently require. For example, it
is mostly women who trek for miles and fetch water in some areas. They
know the value of having a water source right in their village. That
should be a development priority. Likewise, women have an intimate
knowledge of all development and social shortcomings faced by the
village community. This is why it is important to give them a voice –
and the power – right from the grass roots level to implement these
projects.
There should be a search for women who are already active in grass
roots NGOs, various societies and community organisations. These are
ideal platforms for launching a long political career, because they
possess a fairly good idea of the paramount needs of their areas.
Lankan women are politically savvy. They are, in fact, the majority
of the voting population. Go to any polling booth on July 23 and see
which line is longer – the females’ queue will invariably be longer.
This shows how keen women are to exercise their franchise. They have a
very good knowledge of political news and trends. Begin a discussion on
politics at home or in the office – and the women will join in with
their unique perspectives on current issues. Their opinions are valuable
and their verdicts are often spot on. As to why this is not translated
into greater political representation for women is a mystery.
If we analyse this mystery, one factor becomes clear: women are not
voting for women in sufficient numbers. This is a shame, because the
demand for more women in Parliament and other political bodies should
emanate from women themselves. If women also overwhelmingly vote for
male candidates, there will be little place for women in politics. The
women candidates too should make an extra effort to reach out to the
women constituents. They must show that a woman can take up their issues
much more effectively than a man can.
There are a number of other issues that discourage more women from
entering the fray. In Sri Lanka, it is difficult to enter the political
field if you do not have the right ‘connections’ which often means a
family background in politics. Indeed, most of the women representatives
in political bodies happen to be wives, daughters or sisters of renowned
male politicians. Breaking into politics is difficult otherwise.
An effort should be made to defy this trend. Political parties must
encourage more young women without a political background, especially
professionals, to take up politics initially at grass roots (Pradeshiya
Sabha) level. They should be given guidance and assistance in this
regard.
Another impediment for prospective women candidates is money, or
rather the lack of it. You need a lot of it to contest an election,
especially under the existing PR system. Propaganda material and
meetings cost millions of rupees, not to mention food and drinks for
supporters. Again, there should be a mechanism where the political
parties subsidise a part of the campaign for novice women politicians,
if not for those with means or family connections. This way, they will
stand a better chance at the hustings.
The violence associated with the electioneering process is another
potent factor that drives women, especially new entrants, away from the
political stage. They are completely alien to this environment and do
not want to get entangled in clashes with other (male) candidates.
However, there is a chance that the level of violence would be
greatly diminished once the new electoral system is introduced. Reported
to be a mix of the first-past-the-post and PR systems, it will
facilitate a more level playing field for all candidates at electoral
level. They will not need to stretch their resources to district level
under the new system. Once the new system is implemented fully, more
women should be given an opportunity to enter politics.
Women already in politics must act as catalysts in this regard. They
should help identify prospective political aspirants in their
electorates and pave the way for them to come forward. This will help
dispel any fears and doubts that may be initially entertained by the new
candidates.
The media too have a major role to play. They should highlight the
success stories of women who have taken to politics here and abroad,
including those without any family connections to politics. This will
help plant the seeds of a political career in the minds of many more
women and at least some of them are likely to turn their thoughts into
concrete action. That is exactly what we need at the present juncture to
enliven a political field mostly bereft of female representation. |